Direct proof of use
The F-15E Strike Eagle is directly documented in the 1990 Gulf War through U.S. Air Force accounts of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing's Desert Shield and Desert Storm deployment. Air Combat Command says the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron, with selected crews from the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron, deployed F-15E crews to Seeb Air Base, Oman in August 1990 and moved to Al Kharj Air Base, Saudi Arabia in December 1990.
F-15Es were used in the opening Operation Desert Storm air campaign. Air Combat Command records 24 F-15Es in the initial strike package, followed by another 21 Strike Eagles, against heavily defended Scud missile sites on January 17, 1991. The U.S. Air Force's F-15 fact sheet separately states that F-15E aircraft operated mainly at night during Desert Storm, hunting Scud missile launchers and artillery sites with LANTIRN.
Sources: ACC Strike Eagle Opening Act, F-15 Eagle Fact Sheet
Combat chronology
The first F-15E deployment followed Iraq's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Air Combat Command describes the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing as still transitioning from the F-4 Phantom II to the Strike Eagle when the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron and selected 335th crews deployed on short notice to Oman. In December 1990, the squadrons moved closer to Iraq from Oman to Al Kharj in central Saudi Arabia.
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base's 335th Fighter Squadron history records the 335th deploying 24 F-15Es to Al Kharj on December 27-28, 1990. It says the squadron participated in the initial assault on Iraq on the night of January 16, hitting communications, power networks, and airfields around Baghdad, then received the mission of finding and destroying Iraqi Scud launchers.
The squadron history summarizes the 335th's Gulf War F-15E activity as 1,097 combat missions over Iraq and occupied Kuwait, with more than 4.8 million pounds of ordnance dropped. It also credits the squadron with downing an Iraqi helicopter in the air using a laser-guided bomb.
Sources: ACC Strike Eagle Opening Act, 335th Fighter Squadron Fact Sheet
Operational role
In this conflict, the Strike Eagle's documented role was night interdiction and strike against fixed and mobile Iraqi targets. The official Air Force material connects the aircraft to Scud missile sites, Scud launchers, artillery sites, communications, power networks, airfields, and wider attacks over Iraq and occupied Kuwait.
GAO's evaluation of the Desert Storm air campaign gives a broader targeting context. Based on strike data and pilot interviews, GAO found that the F-15E was a preferred platform against fixed Scud missile targets. The same report says F-15Es attacked targets in 10 of 12 strategic target categories and notes that first-day F-15E strikes delivered unguided munitions rather than laser-guided bombs.
The available sources identify the user as the U.S. Air Force, especially the 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing. They support conflict use, deployment, and mission role; they do not by themselves verify every individual Scud-launcher or artillery-site kill claimed in later retellings.
Sources: F-15 Eagle Fact Sheet, 335th Fighter Squadron Fact Sheet, GAO Air Campaign Evaluation
